The present invention relates to a remote access system which is designed to make the task of positioning, manipulation or maintenance of devices/fittings, which are difficult to access or in hostile environments, a much easier operation.
Examples of such difficult to access or hostile environments include, for instance, situations where a device monitoring or sounding is in an area which may be under water, inside machines, chemically hostile, sterile, pressurized, an area of bio-technological or medical isolation, a vacuum pressurized area, an area in which particularly high or low temperatures persist, an area of highly inflammable material, or areas in which sources of nuclear radiation are present.
Typical conventional systems require the device/fitting to be replaced or maintained by accessing the old one and replacing with a new one from a direct access position. In hazardous environments, an environmental seal is generally provided between fitting and the environment in question so as to protect that device and isolate it from the hostile environment. To replace items in such types of situation, it is normal to have to break the environmental seal and then reinstate it afterwards. This task might be hazardous, it is certainly time consuming, costly and generally difficult to achieve and in general is undertaken by specialist personnel.
To give a practical example, swimming pool equipment, such as camera maintenance may require partial drainage of the swimming pool before the changing of a fitting in a side wall can occur. Particular embodiments of swimming pool camera may include a removable portion (or xe2x80x9cguts assemblyxe2x80x9d) which needs to be removed and brought to the surface before replacement/maintenance proper can begin.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided remote access system for access to a device, the system comprising:
an enclosure in which, in use, the device is positioned;
a remote access point at which point maintenance/replacement operations are to be carried out; and
a guide means;
wherein the guide means has first and second ends, the first end being connected to the enclosure and the second end being connected to the remote access point, the guide means being arranged to guide the device from the enclosure to the remote access point and vice versa during maintenance/replacement operations and to surround a peripheral area of the device during transit.
Preferably, manipulation means are provided by means of which the device is moved from the enclosure to the remote access point and vice versa. The manipulation means may comprise an elongate flexible member having a first end connected to the device and a second end by means of which movement from the enclosure to the remote access point and vice versa is effected.
The first end of the manipulation means may comprise a device holder.
The manipulation means may comprise a conduit in which communication means are arranged to run and convey information from the remote access point to the device. The first end of the manipulation means is preferably in mechanical contact with the device.
The manipulation means may include connection means at or adjacent to the second end for conveying information and/or power between the device and one or more external devices. Connection between the connection means and the external device may be achieved by a plug and socket arrangement. Examples of external devices include power sources, data recorders, video signal receivers or other means.
The manipulation means may include a handle, or other grip arrangement at or adjacent to the second end, by means of which movement of the manipulation means within the guide means is effected. This handle/grip arrangement may include the connection means such that grasping of the handle/grip and movement of it in a predetermined direction causes disconnection of the external device from the device. The handle of the manipulation means may be arranged to positively locate with a handle location means when the device is in position within the enclosure.
Preferably, when carrying out a maintenance/replacement operation, the second end of the manipulation means is grasped and moved in a direction for disconnecting, further movement in the direction of disconnecting being arranged to move the device from the enclosure to the remote access point.
The manipulation means may include means for isolating the device from the external device such as by including an integral on/off switch.
The manipulation means may include means for protecting the device during movement. This means for protecting may comprise means for receiving the device and for preventing the device from contacting with the guide means during movement.
The means for protecting may comprise an enlarged device holder, the holder having an outer dimension and form such that during movement between the remote access point and the enclosure, the device is prevented from coming into contact with the guide means.
The protecting means may alternatively comprise a retractable shield. The shield may automatically retract when the device is at the enclosure. The device may be a bulb or may comprise multiple bulbs.
The shield may form part of the manipulation means and, particularly, may comprise a shroud adjacent the device holder, said shroud being capable of relative forward/back movement with respect to the device, when the device is at the enclosure. Such relative forward/back movement may be arranged, where the device is a bulb, to alter a beam pattern of the bulb.
The enclosure may be a housing for a lighting source and the device holder is preferably a bulb holder. The enclosure may include one or more of the following elements: a reflector, for directing light out of the enclosure, a screen and/or a housing for interconnecting reflector and screen. The screen may comprise a transparent lens.
The screen may comprise a pair of lenses, separated from each other by an insulating medium. The insulating medium may be air for instance.
By providing an air gap between the two lenses, excess heat in an external environment is inhibited from being transmitted towards a bulb of the system.
The reflector of the enclosure may be water cooled. Water cooling of the reflector may be achieved by allowing a peripheral portion of the reflector to extend beyond the screen and contact with an external atmosphere, with that external atmosphere being water.
In an alternative arrangement, sealing means may be provided for sealing the device holder to a rear portion of the reflector and means may be provided for allowing water to flow from an exterior environment, to a rear face of the reflector so as to directly cool that reflector by conduction, the system being arranged such that the area around the device is sealed from the external atmosphere.
In a preferred embodiment, a sealing means is provided for forming at least a partial seal between an outer part of the device holder and an inner wall of the guide means. The device holder is preferably arranged to be connected to a gas-tight conduit in which communication leads are conveyed to the device from source/receiver.
Movement of the device between the remote access point to the enclosure may be brought about, for instance where this is difficult to achieve by manual means, by feeding air or other gas under pressure to one side of the device holder to cause movement of the device under a piston-like action within the guide means, whereby the guide means acts as a bore in which the device may be moved. Preferably, gas is fed under pressure into the guide means from the remote access point so that the sealing means in combination with the device holder acts as a piston, with the gas being fed to one side of the device holder via a first passage defined between the exterior of the gas-tight conduit and the interior of the guide means. Preferably, gases on the other side of the device holder are allowed to escape by providing a second, return, passage through the conduit. The return passage may comprise one or more apertures provided in the device holder which give access from the other side of the device holder to the interior of the conduit.
Movement of the device in one direction, preferably towards the enclosure, may be achieved under gas pressure and movement in the other direction may be achieved by manual manipulation means. The manual manipulation means may comprise, for instance, grasping the trailing communication means and pulling the device toward the remote access point, grasping a special cord mechanism or pulling the device by means of a suitable conduit surrounding the communication leads.
Instead of air or gas under a positive pressure being applied to the device, it will be appreciated that providing a source of vacuum (or negative pressure) may be applied to move the device by a suction type effect.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided the system for propelling a device between a remote access point and an enclosure, the system comprising:
a bore, forming a guide means for the device;
a piston for travelling within the bore and arranged to carry the device;
a source of gas pressure for application to a first side of the piston and propelling the piston within the bore between the remote insertion point and the enclosure; and
venting means for gases from a second side of the piston.
Preferably, the device is situated on the second side of the piston.
The source of gas pressure is preferably a source of positive gas pressure and arranged to pressurize a first passageway between the remote access position and the enclosure to cause the piston to move towards the enclosure during a device insertion operation, in which case, the venting means are arranged so as to allow gases from the second side of the piston to escape. If the device is in a non-hazardous environment then exhaust gas may be vented to atmosphere through the enclosure which may not even need a screen.
In alternative embodiments the source of gas pressure may be a source of negative gas pressure (i.e. a suction or vacuum source) for depressurizing the second side of the piston to cause the piston to move towards the enclosure during a device insertion operation.
Embodiments of the system may utilize a combination of positive and negative gas pressure sources to provide movement in both directions between enclosure and remote access point. Other embodiments may use only one source of gas pressure, the source being switchable between the first and second sides of the piston to provide such two-way movement.
It will be appreciated that in each case, control of the application of gas pressure may be achieved by suitable means such as manual or electrically operated valves.
It will also be evident that positive/negative pressure sources correspond to blowing/sucking operations and that movement in each required direction may be achieved by other sources of blowing/sucking, such as an electric motor driven air/gas pump or fan whose direction of rotation may be reversible. Reversing direction of rotation may be achieved by switching means, for instance, by reversing an electrical polarity of the electrical motors supply.
The venting means may comprise a second passageway may connect the second side of the piston with a gas expelling point. The expelling point may be the remote access position. The second passageway preferably forms a return path for gases to the remote access point. The second passageway is preferably formed by a gas tight conduit, a first end of which is mechanically connected to the first side of the piston, and a second end of the conduit may be vented to atmosphere, the first end of the conduit further communicating with the first side of the piston by means of one or more through holes formed in the piston. Gas from the first end of the piston may be expelled to atmosphere via one or more through holes formed in the piston and connecting with the conduit for channelling gases through the conduit. A seal arrangement may be provided between an outer surface of the conduit and the remote access position. Such a seal arrangement may incorporate an entry or exit point for the gas pressure source.
The conduit may also carry communication leads to the device.
Means for gas cooling of the device of systems of the first or second aspect may be provided. The cooling gas may utilise the guide means and may utilise the conduit as a return route, or be expelled to atmosphere via a vent or through the enclosure.
A gas by-pass passage may be utilised in certain systems to facilitate gas cooling and by-pass a seal formed around the device holder, when the device holder is in position.
Orientation means may be provided for changing a position of the device within the enclosure. The orientation means may comprise an eyeball/socket arrangement in which the device forms the xe2x80x9ceyeballxe2x80x9d. Motor means may be provided as part of the orientation means for changing the position of the device. Alternatively, the device may be positioned by the manipulation means. The system may include a bracket for attaching the enclosure to a supporting surface. The orientation means may be associated with the bracket.
The system of the second aspect may include any one or more features of the system of the first aspect in any logical combination and vice versa.